N Korean leader’s powerbroker uncle ousted: South Korea

THE REGENT:The vice chairman of the North’s top military body was often referred to by analysts as the unofficial No. 2 in the hierarchy

AFP, SEOUL

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s uncle, seen as his nephew’s political regent and one of the most powerful men in the country, has apparently been ousted and several associates executed, South Korea’s spy agency said yesterday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) told a parliamentary committee that it believed Jang Song-thaek had been removed as vice chairman of the North’s top military body, the North Korean National Defense Commission.

If confirmed, Jang’s ouster would mark the most significant purge at the top of North Korean leadership since Kim Jong-un succeeded his late father Kim Jong-il in December 2011.

According to the NIS, Jang was “recently ousted from his position and two of his close confidantes — Ri Yong-ha and Jang Soo-kil — were publicly executed in mid-November,” South Korean lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae told reporters.

North Korean military personnel were notified of the executions, Jung said, adding that Jang, 67, had since “disappeared.”

The husband of Kim Jong-il’s powerful sister, Kim Kyong-hui, Jang was seen as instrumental in cementing Kim Jong-un’s hold on power in the tricky transition period after his father’s death.

He was often referred to as the unofficial No. 2 in the hierarchy, with a number of analysts naming him as the real power behind the young Kim’s rule.

“I can only guess that the roles played by Jang have caused some tension in the process of consolidating Kim Jong-un’s power,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor at Seoul’s Dongguk University.

“Jang once visited South Korea and witnessed many aspects of capitalist society, including the changes that have been happening in China. So he was the figure who was most likely to aggressively push for some reforms and opening of the North’s system,” Kim Yong-hyun said.

Several analysts suggested Jang may have lost out in a power struggle with Choe Ryong-hae, a close Kim Jong-un confidant who holds the military rank of vice marshal and is director of the North Korean People’s Army’s General Political Department.

Jang Song-Thaek has fallen out of favor before. In 2004 he was understood to have undergone “re-education” as a steel mill laborer because of suspected corruption, but he made a comeback the following year.

Jang expanded his influence rapidly after Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke in 2008 and he was appointed vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission in 2010.

His wife, Kim Kyong-hui, has also long been at the center of power.

In the past year, she has been far less visible, with reports that she was seriously ill and had sought hospital treatment in Singapore on several occasions.

Given Jang’s long, close ties to the ruling Kim family, analysts were divided over whether his dismissal would strengthen or weaken Kim Jong-un’s power base, with some suggesting the young leader may have been pressured into sacrificing his uncle.